If the candlelight vigils and furor that gripped India in the past year were anything to go by, one would think the cause of women’s safety would top the agenda of every political party.
As election season heats up, the lack of focus on this issue shows political parties’ disconnect with the voter. Recent horrific rape incidents have already given detractors a chance to call India “Rapistan.”
The intense scrutiny by media of the tormented woman, which only ends after channels have awarded a certificate declaring her morally upright or otherwise, has failed to contain the grotesque crime against the fairer sex.
For political parties, these are but figures that their spokespersons quote in TV studios. The general lack of apathy is especially blatant as some important positions are held by women in these parties.
Perhaps, some of these “empowered” women aren’t safe either. Take the case of actress-turned-Congress politician Nagma, who was manhandled last week by a Congress legislator, who grabbed her face and allegedly kissed her at an event. A shocked Nagma walked off angrily. Four days later, a tougher Nagma slapped a man who tried to grope her during the campaign in Meerut. The actress has now hired guards. Alas, not all Indian women can afford such luxury.
Another actress-turned-politician Hema Malini has a much more practical solution for women’s safety. The BJP candidate from Mathura last week stated that only “Modiji can ensure safety of women.” Someone please remind Malini that her “savior of all women” has some serious answering to do on his role in the illegal police monitoring of a young woman in 2009. A sting operation last year exposed that the woman’s phone tapping was authorized by Modi’s confidant Amit Shah.
The Congress manifesto pledges “one-stop crisis centers” for women in hospitals and promises police stations with at least 25 percent female staffers, in addition to passing a “Citizens’ Charter for Women’s Safety,” if and when voted back to power.
The BJP anthem “mein desh nahi mitne doonga” is hugely Modi-centric, with large portions of dialogues by the controversial leader. It is no wonder then issues of corruption, women’s safety, price rise make only blink-and-miss appearances in the song and it ends with much to be desired.
The 16-month-old Aam Aadmi Party promises among other things swift dispensing of justice in crime cases against women and the setting up of Citizens’ Security Forces that will “provide security to anyone in distress.”
Until these parties wake up, people of India will probably take solace in the aspirations of starlet Rakhi Sawant who is contesting on the plank of restoring women’s safety. How serious Sawant is taken is anyone’s guess.
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